


Jake the Borrower

by Tuiteyfruity



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Borrowers AU, F/M, Gen, Not a Crossover, but the AU and fic have evolved beyond this being centered around that, chapter one only has a few characters to ease you into this, characters i dont even list will show up, huge cast is gonna appear, jake and ziyal are the main ship in this, literally every dax shows up, the dominion doesn't exist that was too much to fit into this AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 13:51:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14333811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tuiteyfruity/pseuds/Tuiteyfruity
Summary: (Borrower AU: Bajor is home to two species, Bajorans and Humans. Humans are about 1/10th the size of bajorans, and most bajorans dont know about them. In this fic, all characters that are not Bajoran or Cardassian, are human. I make that work I promise. )The normally uneventful lives of the Estate Borrowers are thrown off by the arrival of a new and mysterious resident. Nothing will ever be the same, not for the humans, not for all of Bajor





	1. Space is No Place for a Human

Their waiting had paid off. The kitchen, which had been full of activity for the past hour was beginning to empty as the chefs cleaned the utensils until they sparkled. This many cooks meant something, the larger kitchen was only used if an event was being hosted, but there were no guests in the house and all the prepared food was being stored in the large freezer. Most of the food looked like desserts. Small pastries artfully decorated with flowers over colored marzipan that indicated cake flavor and type of filling, individual fruit tarts made of a rainbow of jams, fudge made on top of flaky cookies and cut into squares, . They worked like a well oiled machine, as if everything down to locking up had been timed.

The thing about pastries was if any were flawed, they were thrown away, even if they would taste just as amazing. What a waste, and letting such fine creations go to waste would be a crime!

Jake and Nog weren’t going to stand for it. 

Once the lights had been turned off and the final chef had left, they emerged from their vantage point, the loose ceiling tile above the rack of pans drying next to the sink. Jake went first, throwing the hook and fiber line ahead of them. Nog was always impressed by Jakes throwing ability, for one so skinny he had precision aim and good distance on every throw. the hook snagged around the sink faucet and the pair held onto each other as they swung across. Looking down they saw the sink was still full of water, the flat surface reflected the moonlight coming in from the window. If they weren’t so set on getting sweets, they might have been tempted to go swimming.

But they were after sweets and nothing was going to stop them. The trashed pastries were not by the sink, the decorating counter was in the corner of the room left of the sink. When they reached the edge of the counter Jake hooked his line on the edge and let the rope fly free, down until it reached the floor a meter below.

“Come on Jake, I know you could throw it across!” urged Nog. He was always trying to think of the fastest way to do things without considering the safer way.

“There’s nothing for the pin to grab onto!” Jake pointed out for the hundredth time, already climbing down the rope. He beckoned his shorter friend to hurry up and follow. reluctantly Nog scaled the rope. At the bottom he skillfully flicked it loose and caught it before it could hit the ground.

The decorating counter was made of wood, unlike the sink, so climbing up was made easier. Both Nog and Jake took out swatches covered in small but sharp hooks and strapped them to their feet. Each held two larger hooks in their hands and began to climb.

“Climb faster!” Jake whispered up at Nog.

“I’m climbing as fast as I can Jake!”

“then get longer legs!” Jake retorted, taping his hook against one of Nog’s calves.

Nog knew Jake was just teasing him. Even for a human he was short, and though he was stronger than Jake, limb length was definitely the better asset when it came to borrowing. Maybe he would take an extra large piece of piece of cake and not share it with his friend as payback for the remark.

Finally they made it to the top and collapsed.

“Remind me why we do this again?” weezed Nog.

“Because Bajoran cooks are best their are,” supplied Jake, staring up at the ceiling, the tile pattern swimming a bit in his vision. It was better than looking around. The cluttered kitchen items, especially the pots and the doors to the freezer and refrigerator, reflected light weirdly and it sometimes seemed as if there were still people about. Bajorans who could capture them and hurt them.

“Don’t let your dad hear you say that! he might kick you out!”

“Then I would just move in with you!” said Jake, sitting up. “Come on, we’re losing time!”

“you mean the entire rest of the night?” asked Nog.

“I mean until our fathers find us gone when we should be doing something useful, I still want to go to the roof!”

“You spend too much time on the roof! you’re going to go moon crazy!” said Nog.

“That’s not even a thing,” said Jake, arriving at the other side of the counter a good time before Nog.

Normally taking food from the waste was never something either of them would consider. It was unhygienic and degrading. However, for some reason the decorating counter had it’s own waste receptacle for discarded work, and the trash was never cleaned out until morning. As if the cooks didn’t want to take out their garbage or it wasn’t in their job description. Whatever the reason, Jake and Nog didn’t care. It meant they had access to fresh pastries when they were made. It was a small bag that hung from the side of the counter so the chef could just scrap the ruined food into it.

“Time to go fishing!” Jake announced, already tying the rope around him.

“Can’t I go this time?” asked Nog.

“Only you are strong enough to pull someone back up!” Jake reminded him.

“I still don’t believe that!” said Nog. He’d seen jake lift things that were certainly larger than himself. But Nog was stronger than his friend and took pride in that, so he took the rope and lowered Jake down.

Jake landed on the top, which was sealed to keep out pests and wrenched it open. A burst of sugary air hit him, almost enough to give him a rush without eating any sugar. He hopped down, landing with a splat in a tart. Jake reached down and tasted the filling. Hasperat. Dad’s favorite; he couldn’t not take some, making sure to get some crust in addition to the gooey jam.

“YOU’D BETTER GET SOMETHING CHOCOLATE!” called Nog. Jake searched and in no time found one of those fudge bars. His arms were too full to keep gathering so he yanked on the fiber and Nog pulled him up. They placed the loot onto pieces of plastic and tied them up to make little bags of pastry that wouldn’t ruin their fabric borrowing sacks.

“Send me back down! i still need to get some of that cake stuff we saw them making!”

“We’re going to need to borrow more plastic wrap soon,” said Nog as he tied off the last sack before he helped Jake back to the cake.

Running with their haul the two humans left the kitchen as fast as possible, making sure that they left no trace of their presence. Back in the ceiling, Nog fetched their lamp so they could examine their goods.

“Aw yes!” said Nog as he breathed in the scent of chocolate.

“This will taste better on the roof!”

Jake snatched the piece of fudge from Nog’s hands and ran, taking the light source with him. Right into his father. the lantern light shined off the square goggles and framed the powerful, bearded brown chin in the otherwise dark caverns.

“What do he have here,” the deep voice asked The man removed his goggles to look right into his son’s eyes, seeing excitement and a bit of guilt. “A kitchen expedition? I don’t recall needing anything borrowed from the big kitchen, Jake.”

“Look dad! We got tarts!” Jake searched his bag for the hasperat and handed it to his father.

“So I see!” his father smiled, white teeth almost as bright as the lamp, “what’s the occasion?” he examined the pastry before putting it in one of his numerous pockets.

“I don’t know, but there were a lot of chefs today!” Jake informed him as Nog ran up behind him.

“I’ll ask around then, we have to be prepared if the Estate is going to be full of Bajorans.”

The Estate was usually pretty empty save for the Governor, her wife, and her sister, and borrowing was easy. Living as easy, since so many rooms were locked up they could come and go as they pleased. But every month or so guests would come over, sometimes just a few, sometimes big parties were held and those locked rooms were opened up. They had to know which rooms and when so they could clear out in time.

“By the amount of dessert I saw, it can’t be a small party,” said Nog.

“Thanks Nog,” said Ben, “Oh and Jake, Dr Bashir requested some pain killers, the proper kind, do you think you could get some, I’m going to be busy tonight investigating this event.”

“Sure thing dad,” said Jake, as his father handed him some sterile gloves and an extra sheet of plastic wrap for the medicine. Looks like they were making a detour before the roof.

Medicine was kept in a variety of places in the Estate, but painkillers were in the Governor’s Medicine Cabinet. 

Jake and Nog went as far as they could in the ceiling but eventually had to use the wallspace. Handholds made from anything from staples to thumb tacks to jewlery helped them as they traveled down to the floor of the Master Bathroom.

It was late enough that the Governor and her wife were sleeping in the next room, but Jake and Nog carefully crossed the floor, not making a sound until they were below the bathroom sink, the basin of which loomed over them.

“I’ve got this one!” said Nog, and before Jake could say anything, Nog had hurled up his hook. Or rather, Jake’s hook. Jake hadn’t even noticed Nog had stolen it right off him. The Ferengis family was certainly light fingered folk.

“Dad asked me to do this,” said Jake.

“Like he’d going to know which of us actually did the job,” Nog was already climbing up.

“I’ll keep watch then,” conceded Jake.

Fetching medicine was actually easy, as long as you were sure no one was going to walk into the room. It was always better to have a lookout on this kind of job. Nog reached the mirror and examined his reflection, turning on a small hand light. His dirty red hair was getting a bit long but it just added style, and his round face was starting to gain some edge, he hoped.

“looking good,” he remarked, smiling at himself. then he pressed the small symbol in teh lower corner of the mirror and it slid open with with a SWISH. He used the hand light to locate the correct bottle of pills and unscrewed the top. With the sterile gloves on, which he also pinched from Jake, he grabbed a pill.

Jake looked up when he heard Nog triumphantly fall to the ground, controlling his descent with one hand on the rope, the other holding the pill that was as big around as his face. Jake wrapped it up, but it was too big to fit in either of their bags.

It was actually quicker to the roof from their current position than from the kitchen, so they were able to make good time. The ventilation system that lead to the roof was separate from the big kitchen’s ventilation. It was a bit dusty but with bandanas over their mouths it was tolerable and soon they were on the roof, looking out over The Estate, a city glimmered off in the distance.

Nog was done waiting, he took out the chocolate and started to eat, noisily. Jake found a piece of cake and ate it slowly, leaning back so he stared up at the stars.

Being the size of a rodent, the world always felt so big and scary, especially living in a house with giants, everything reminded Jake of how small he was. But looking up at the sky reminded Jake this was only one small world in an enormous galaxy. It didn’t make him feel any smaller, no, it was comforting to know that everything was small compared to the universe.

“Are you thinking about space travel again?” Nog asked, just as a warp trail blazed across the sky from a departing ship. Warp trails, unlike shooting stars, started off with bursts and disappeared into a point, plus the light was different, more like luminescent glitter than a streak of fire.

“When am I not?” replied Jake. “it’s so unfair that Bajorans can explore space and we can’t! Think about all they get to see and discover, all the fantastic adventures they go on. I could do that, and write about all I see.”

“Space is no place for a human, Jake.” said Nog, mimicking Jake’s father’s stern tone.

“You just wait! I’ll get there someday,” sighed Jake.

They both sat up as something flew across their vision. Fearing it was a bird they started to gather their things but then it landed.

A tall dark-skinned, dark-haired woman was unstrapping herself from a glider of metal and wood. From the back of the glider she removed a large bag and walked over to Jake and Nog, who were smiling. 

“Sorry if I scared you! I spotted your light and had to land, I’ve got some mail for your fathers,” said the woman kindly.

“We weren’t scared,” insisted Nog, “we were going to come greet you.”

“That’s right!” Jake said to support his friend.

“Alright then and what are my two fine young men doing out here tonight?”

“Just looking at the stars Mrs Yates,” said Jake.

“Then don’t let me intrude, I’ll be on my way, got a lot mail to deliver!” she said.

“Wait, Mrs Yates, do you think you could get this medicine to Dr Bashir? I’m sure he’d appreciate getting it sooner than I could walk it over to him!”

“I’d be my pleasure Jake,” she said, accepting the pill and putting it in the mailbag.

She hooked herself back into the glider and kicked the small engine which thrust her into the air before turning off a second later as she spread the wings out to the full span. Silently and gracefully she flew down to the garden, towards Dr Bashir’s tree.

“If she wasn’t married to your dad she would so be mine!” said Nog.

“Oh Nog no! Why do you say things like that!” Jake had set up Kasidy Yates, the local mailwoman, with his father a few years back after his mother had died. Her job meant she wasn’t around much, but when she was she always had stories to tell. “And she isn’t anyones! She’s more free than any of us.”

“Whatever do you hear that?”

Jake did hear it. It was the sound of automobiles coming up the drive. People were arriving. but why now? it was very late at night and not the time to host an event. They ran across the roof and slid down to the gutter to get a better look.

A big fancy car had pulled up and people were getting out. But they weren’t Bajoran. The front door opened and illuminated the three grey figures of Cardassians. Their reptilian facial and neck features visible even from high up. A man and two women, no and a girl. They were dressed in very nice clothes and their driver was removing a fancy suitcase from the trunk of the car. It was handed off to the girl. The Governor and her wife ran out to greet their alien visitors, tails swishing nervously, they obviously had not expected company tonight. Jake and Nog couldn’t hear what they were saying but they sounded scared.

“Jake you need to see this,” Nog elbowed him.

“I am seeing this!” he said, but Nog had out his spyglass, he saw something Jake couldn’t.

“That girl! Look at the girl,” Nog instructed as he gave the spyglass to his friend.

Jake looked through the instrument and down at the girl. Now he could see it, she had a tail, a naked, scaly tail. Cardassians did not have tails. Bajorans did. the more he looked, the more off she seemed. She had large ears, instead of flat circular drums, wide light brown eyes, and her muzzle wasn’t nearly as pronounced as the two Cardassians next to her.

The Governor’s wife lead the girl inside and the Governor stayed outside, talking to the two remaining Cardassians. Eventually they left, but the girl did not come with them.

“Who could she be?” asked Nog.

Jake still saw the face of the girl in his mind’s eye “I have no idea.”


	2. The Invisible Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting is held, Jake and Nog investigate the new resident of the estate

A meeting of all the Estate Borrowers had been called, held in the Old Parlor room, or OPs. Full of old junk, it was mostly a storage room, and unlikely to be unlocked for use ever again. Still, out of fear that someday the stuff would be moved or needed, nobody dared borrow anything from it.

Instead, things had been moved into it. In the center of OPs was a short table with a cloth that had lacy edges covering it. Junk had been piled up around it but not on top, so the Estate Borrowers used it as a gathering place. Another smaller, elliptical table stood on the short one, and around it were chairs. These had been put there by the humans. The heads of each family sat in the chairs. Benjamin Sisko sat at one of the ends of the table, Odo E'Tal at the other. Curzon Dax and Miles O'Brian say on either side of Ben, while Julian Bashir and Quark Ferengis flanked Odo. A lamp was lit at the center illuminating everyone’s faces. No one was particularly cheerful.

Anyone else who wished to watch or join in had to stand. Tonight this included Jake, Nog, Worf and Jadzia.

“Even hacking into the Governor’s messages, I haven’t gathered much specific information,” said Miles, “the Cardassians did something aggressive, the bajorans didn’t like it. So now the political scene is more tense. What they did seems to be a mystery, news reports have nothing to say.”

“What does it matter what happened?” Remarked Julian with an air of disinterest.

“It matters because it’s effecting us!” Odo growled in their gruff baritone.

“It’s something that the Bajorans deemed needed formal negotiations. By Jake and Nog’s account of the desserts alone, they are trying to appease someone. Make friends not enemies,” said Ben.

“The quantity suggests many people,” said Odo, “I wish they’d gotten a more accurate count.”

“Sorry we dont have your photographic memory, but it was several trays!” supplied Jake.

“The dinning hall will be used, maybe the ballroom. Those extra bathrooms will be opened, the main parlor, and a study or two for when guests tire of the crowd,” continued Odo before Curzon cut them off.

“Not just guests! There will be temporary staff! Extra staff means use of the servants quarters! And I bet the library will be unlocked and the garden redone! When is this event to take place?”said Curzon

“If food is already being prepared I suspect tomorrow,” reasoned Quark.

“Can Bajorans even work that fast?” wondered Julian. “On the garden, I mean, have you seen the state of it?”

“They might not do any garden work,” said Odo, “you and the O'Brians have can probably stay put.”

“Probably? I can’t keep my family safe on a ‘probably’. Plus I have my workshop,” said Miles.

“Your family’s well being will be top priority,” Ben assured him. “But we must talk about the girl!”

“Girl! What girl? No one mentioned a girl,” asked Quark.

“The Cardassian girl!” answered Ben.

Jake stepped forward to correct his father. “I don’t think know her exact age, or even if they’re Cardassian! Nog and I got a good look at her, she has a tail!”

“But she’s staying here?” Asked Quark.

Nog and Jake both nodded.

“Great! Just great! Another resident. We have to find out what room and learn her patterns. And she’s probably a child? Even more trouble! The young are unpredictable, no matter the species!” said Miles.

Julian nudged Miles a bit, smiling. “You afraid of a little girl, Miles?”

“If that little girl can harm my little girl, then you can bet your medicine supply I am!”

“I know where they’re keeping her,” interjected Jadzia. “Saw her move her stuff into one of the old guest rooms.”

“Those are closer to us than the Master Bedroom!” cried Quark.

“It’s a prime borrowing spot too,” added Curzon.

During the occupation, the preservation of the house wasn’t a priority and many rooms were neglected or even just vandalized but never fixed up. Nobody misses small things from those rooms, not when most of it is broken.

“You are all acting like this girl is a big deal! Pull yourselves together. We don’t know if they are here permanently, we need more information and we can lay low for a few days, we have the supplies,” Ben reminded everyone as he took command of the conversation. “Now, Jake, what was this about her not being a Cardassian?”

“Nog and I didnt get a good look at her, it was dark out. But she can’t be completely Cardassian, like I said, she has a tail,” answered Jake.

“A sub-species perhaps? Or a genetic mutation?” Suggested Julian.

“But why is she here?” asked Ben, not because he expected and answer but to cut Julian off before he started going on about all the possibilities in detail. The man was smart but didnt know when to stop talking.

Julian was aware of his tendency, but never when he was about to start rambling. He was always silently grateful to Benjamin who learned to recognize the signs and subtly derail him without embarrassing him.

“Do you remember anything else?” Ben asked the two boys.

“The car had a symbol on the door!” Nog blurted out. Everyone stared at him; his cheeks flushed and he clasped his hands behind his back, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone.

“Well? What did it look like?” Demanded Odo.

“Uh, it’s hard to describe, and it was dark out,” said Nog as Odo slipped a pen and scrap of paper across the table in Nog’s direction.

Nog walked forward, oriented the paper, and picked up the pen. All eyes were still on him and it was nerve wracking, he wasn’t confident he could draw it in the first place. For three long minutes all that could be heard was the scratching of pen on paper and Nog’s breathing.

“There, sort of,” he wiped cold sweat from his brow.

The paper was passed around. When it got to Miles it stopped, the man had a look of confused surprise on his face.

“You know this image?” Asked Odo.

“No, but it’s familiar. I don’t like it either, this means something important.” He said, taking out his compad and scanning the image. after another minutes of waiting Miles handed the compad to Nog. “Any of these match what you saw?”

“There’s over five hundred images!” Cried Nog.

“So get looking!” said Quark.

Nog stepped aside to scroll through the images on the tiny screen. The light flickered different colors on his face in rhythm with his finger swipes.

Before anyone could resume talking Nog was back, he slammed the device on the table in a fashion that made Miles jump.

“That’s it, I’m sure of it!”

Miles took his compad back, snatching as if afraid someone might take it and mistreat it. Then he nearly dropped it when he saw the image.

“That’s the crest of the Dukat family of Cardassia!” He exclaimed. That didnt get the reaction he expected from the others.

“That name sounds familiar,” said Julian.

“It should, he was a big player in the occupation. I took part in sabotaging several of his security systems for the Bajoran Resistance, making them seem to malfunction. Dukat’s were the most difficult to deal with, not because they were complicated, they were old and haphazardly made.”

“Sometimes i forget you were part of the Invisible Resistance” mused Jake.

“Didnt do it to be remembered. If we did then we wouldn’t have been invisible now would we? But I remember it vividly,” Miles sighed. “Gul Dukat was the commanding officer on Terok Nor”

No matter who you were, cardassian, bajoran, or human, you knew the name Terok Nor. It was the cardassian space station built to orbit Bajor and when Bajor had decided to free itself from the Cardassians the station became a focal point of many battles.

Control of the station was a huge advantage to whichever side held it. In the hundred years of war the station had been destroyed and rebuilt eight times. The latest time neither the Cardassians nor the Bajorans claimed responsibility, but it happened at a critical time, giving the Bajorans the opportunity to reclaim their planet.

The station was still rebuilt, but as a collaborative effort to create neutral ground as physical fighting turned to political. It wasn’t known as Terok Nor any longer, it was DS9.

Ben had made sure Jake knew this history. He knew that when times when the station had been under cardassian control were the most brutal.

“And this, Dukat, has something to do with what’s happening here?” Piped up Quark to break the silence.

“I wouldn’t think he would be allowed on the planet, but if the car bore his sigil…”

“The Cardassians don’t know about us, whatever the Bajorans do is their business. Why are we discussing interstellar politics? It won’t affect us,” said Julian.

“You say that now,” sniped Miles.

“Julian has a good point Miles,” said Ben, “we got off track again, we need to focus on what’s happening in this house!”

Jake’s father quickly wrapped up the meeting by assigning people to watch shifts in hallways and rooms that were likely to have activity to get a full picture of the event the Governor was hosting.

Jake and Nog weren’t given one and slipped away afterwards. Jake lead them through the inner walls of the Estate. A mix of antique architecture and modern meant in some spaces the stability of footholds was questionable and in others there were poorly maintained electrical components. They headed to the room that Jadzia had said mystery girl was staying in.

“This is a bad idea, what are you even trying to accomplish, Jake?”

“I just have to see her again,” he answered then added “we didn’t get a good look at her before! We still don’t know what she even is.”

“You’re risking being seen!” Nog exclaimed.

“We,” Jake corrected him.

“Nope, you, I’m going home. You can be and idiot on your own this time. I’ll leave you my lantern”

Nog had stopped following him and turned around, placing the lantern on an exposed nail in the wall and disappearing into the dark before Jake could say anything in response. He took the light and continued on his way alone.

As he approached the room the amount of wall electrics increased. There was one set of wired that lead to an older wall light that could be moved enough to let a human though.

Jake pushed on the wall next to the wires, swinging the small section of wall open to make a small aperture to look into the room. It wasn’t much, he couldn’t scan the room but he could tell it was dark inside. He opened it all the way.

The window across from him was open, letting in a pleasant breeze and a small amount of moonlight. The bed was near the window, the light defining the shape of a person under the blankets, a head exposed at one end, facing away from Jake’s location.

Below him was a dresser with a vanity, there were other lights to his sides, arranged in a decorative fashion to match the mirror setup. He repelled down quietly, landing between two hair brushes, one with bristles as thick as his fingers and another with bristles so thin that Jake would tempted to cut some to make a brush for himself, if he had hair of any significant length.

The girl would notice if a section of her brush was shorter than the rest anyways, not a smart borrow.

He looked around for anything that would give him a clue to who and what she was. A picture frame on the nightstand next to the bed caught his eye, but it was facing away from him.

Getting down to the floor and climbing up would have been the safer and quieter route but also taken longer.

Instead he opted to throw his extra grappling line across. It dug into the wood and he anchored his end, creating a bridge made of a single rope. The girl didn’t stir from her slumber.

Jake grasped the rope and slid off the dresser to hang over the floor. He swung his feet up and wrapped his knees around the rope then began scooting towards the other side. He focused on the rope and didn’t look down at the long drop below.

By the time he reached the nightstand his muscles were screaming. A small lamp rested next to the picture frame and he sat against its base of cool metal. After deciding he had wasted enough time Jake stood back up and walked to the front of the picture frame.

“Who are you?”

At first he thought the cardassian in the photo had spoken, but the uncomfortable smile on the middle-aged man hadn’t moved. His heart stopped for a moment and when it started again it was going at full speed.

He whipped around. The girl had turned her head and was looking right at him, calm and curious even in shadow.

Her eyes, too big for a cardassian, sparkles were shining, her ears, large and completely out of place, were twitching a bit but angled towards him, the lobes connected to her prominent and scaled jawline. She had the facial ridges of a cardassian but her muzzle was too flat.

Jake only recalled these details later, now his mind was blank, he had to get away, fast.

“Can you understand me?,” her voice still quiet. “I’m Tora Ziyal.”

The words didn’t process in Jake’s mind as the girl started to sit up. Was she going to reach for him? Jake to ran for it.

No time to crawl across the rope, Jake swung down and across, scrambling up the dresser and back through the hole. He didn’t look back at the girl but she hadn’t made a move passed sitting upright and placing her hands in her lap as she watched the little person disappear into the wall.

Even once he was out of sight he ran down the passageway until he felt safe enough to lean against a wall and catch his breath. His heart was pounding in his ears and he didn’t hear the two sets of footsteps approaching his location.

“You were seen, weren’t you?”

Jake’s father stepped out of the darkness, scared and relieved, but mostly angry. Behind him, nearly hidden by the larger man, was Nog, avoiding Jake’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! please leave comments!


	3. Visions and Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where I realized I was in too deep and should have called this story Ben the Borrower
> 
> (this was originally supposed to be a short sweet Jake/Ziyal thing... and it is an entire AU that if I follow through, follows DS9 themes, with Ben becoming the emissary and everything)

"I can't believe you would do something so foolish, Jake. You know better than that. This is the first lesson a Borrower learns. Or have you forgotten?"

Jake was avoiding his father's eyes.

"No sir, I haven't."

"Look at me when you're talking, and tell me what the rule is," instructed Ben.

It took a lot to look back at his dad's face, so full of disappointment.

"You must not be seen," supplied Jake. "I didn't mean to break the rule."

"That's the problem, Jake - I think you did. And in doing so you not only endangered yourself but all of us, in this house, on this planet! By being seen, you risk all humans to exposure. More importantly, it risks my losing you, and I... I can't bearto think I could have so easily." Ben's voice was starting to waver. He had been so scared. "Since you got away, we just have to be extra careful, and she will just think it was only a dream."

"I guess you won't let me borrow for a while now," said Jake.

"If I could afford to issue that punishment, I would. But we are stocking up tonight and morning is only a few hours away. Jadzia and I are making another kitchen borrow. I need you and Nog to do a supply run from the other guest room. There are pieces of broken toys and computers, you know the like, that I want Miles to have. He's going to meet you there; No one is in those rooms. Tomorrow we can see what's going on with the garden and maybe gather some herbs."

At the mention of his name, Nog was at Jake’s side. Ben gave them both a few extra tools used to borrowing electronics and led them all the way to the other room. He left them with Miles, but not before giving Jake one last warning.

"You aren't to go near the girl again. Is that understood?" growled Ben

"Yeah, dad."

"Good! Now good borrowing!”

"Good borrowing to you too, Mr. Sisko," said Nog, waving goodbye.

Miles started to lead them in the opposite direction. Then Nog turned to Jake, looking up at his friend who looked guilty even though accused of nothing. "You're going to try and see her again, aren't you?" Nog asked, whispering, since Miles might have been instructed to monitor them more closely than usual.

"I don't think you want me to answer that," said Jake.

"Why not?" asked Nog

"Plausible deniability."

"That's the opposite of reassuring," said Nog.

"Hey, come help me with this!" called Miles from across the room and under the bed.

That area was like a junkyard. There were years worth of random discarded items accumulated there, with treasures hidden in it. It seemed to be a place where anything broken was just shoved. But if the room was to be cleaned, they had to get to what they could now. It had been scoured many times by the Borrowers but knowing this might be the last time, they were finding things they'd missed before.

The engineer was trying to pull something shiny from a tangle of other shiny things. A Bajoran earpiece! Though it looked a bit bulky.

"Jewelry? Mr. O'Brian, is this really the time to be looking for something nice for your wife?" Jake said, not hesitating to assist Miles in liberating the object.

"You sound like your father, Jake. This piece is a communicator! The delicate instrumentation that is needed to make it look like jewelry is some of the highest quality," said Miles. "For being a few years old..." With a trusty wrench, Miles was able to open up and take apart the electronics, stuffing wires and crystals into his bag.

Jake moved on, heading to another pile of tangled junk. He couldn't remember if he'd ever searched this one before. Everything in the pile was technically useful, but most wasn't needed right now. Pieces of metal, plastic, paper, odd items that could be raw materials. This place had served as a sort of vault for everything, but they couldn't move most of it. There was just so much.

Jackpot! Jake found an old remote to something, maybe a toy? Who knew, but it had small batteries. He was sure that Kasidy could use more, or someone would find a use. He pulled them out of the device, careful not to turn it on, and pocketed the metallo-crystals. They were kind of pretty.

Nog hadn't made any sort of noise, grumble of boredom or otherwise, in a little while, which made Jake suspicious. Abandoning his pile Jake went searching for his friend and discovered him quickly, by a ancient data pad. Nog had hooked it up to his own, smaller pad, and was clearly browsing through some items. He jumped when he noticed Jake.

"Dude, it's just me!"

"Yes, of course! I knew that!" said Nog.

"Whatcha looking at?" said the voice of Miles, who had followed Jake. He looked at both boys suspiciously.

"Nothing! I mean! Well I found this old data pad and since the tech is too bulky I thought maybe the information it contained might be valuable!" said Nog

"And?" asked Miles. Nog's ears went red.

"There was a large file of, um, pictures of Bajoran women, and not much else."

Miles pinched his brows. God damn teenagers. He dragged Nog away from the pad and assigned him a new pile to work on, with Jake's help. Hopefully Jake would keep them on track.

The sun had just begun to rise when the door to the room opened and several Cardassians stormed in. The humans snatched up what they could and ran back to the safety of the wall space. They scrambled to a view port behind a wall fixture. from there they could watch what was going on.

The Cardassians spread out, there were four of them. They didn't look happy.

"All of this needs to go!" said a Cardassian with greenish skin, clearly the boss of the other three. He waved at the piles of junk and the bed.

Everything was cleared out, and a long forgotten floor was revealed. Then an object was brought in on a very ornate pedestal. It looked like a plain black box. The Cardassian with greenish skin pressed his fingers to the edge of the box in a sequence and it opened. A second object, covered in a cloth, was brought in and placed into the box.

"Place a guard by the door. Two, actually. No one is to enter the room without my authorization!" the Cardassian in charge ordered.

With that, the room was empty of both people and things, except for the box. Miles took both boys by their elbows and dragged them away. It was nearly morning, they needed sleep. After escorting Nog, then Jake, back to their homes, Miles returned to the garden shed where he lived with Keiko and their daughter.

Benjamin made sure Jake had fallen asleep before allowing himself to do the same.

\---

_Sisko._

_SISKO sisko Sisko_

"Mr Sisko?"

Everything was fuzzy. The voices, the figures they came from. He couldn’t remember what he was doing or where he was. The voices were familiar, and they had faces attached, which he could almost make out. Friends? Family?

“He can’t hear us, he is too far,” said a voice. Female, maybe?

“I’m right here! I can hear you!” said Ben, grasping at the figures in the haze.

The faces turned away.

“Ben!”

Hands on his shoulders, clear voice of Jadzia, and he was back in the kitchen, on the table. He had been cutting berries off of a stem in strategic places to make sure the few missing weren’t noticeable. But the knife wasn’t in his hand anymore. It was at his feet.

“Jadzia, did you see that?” Ben already knew the answer.

“No, and I think we should go to Julian. You just stood there for a good minute, staring at the berries,” said Jadzia, picking up the knife and not returning it to Ben.

“But the borrowing, we-” He wobbled where he stood.

“You are in no shape to borrow, or even make it to Julian’s. I’m taking you home to bed. You need rest Ben.”

He didn’t make another objection, but by the time he got back to his room, he was feeling much better. And Miles was waiting for him.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Ben looked at Nog and Jake, who were on the couch.

“I’m not sure, but I need to tell you something.” Miles also looked to the two boys. “After these two get to bed.”

“Nog, go back to your place,” Ben ordered, and Nog ran out, Ben locked eyes with Jake.

“I’m still angry at your recklessness, but I’m also grateful you’re alive.” He sat next to his son. “We’ll talk more in the afternoon,” he finished, and he held out his arms. Jake considered for a second before embracing his dad and heading off to bed.

“Now Miles, what is it you wanted to tell me? Did Jake do something?”

“Oh no, sir. He behaved himself.” Miles told Ben about the mysterious object.

“Sounds like none of our business,” said Ben.

“But Sir, you need to see this for yourself.” said Miles, not really knowing why.

“You said it’s guarded? I don’t think that will be possible” said Ben

“Can’t argue with that, Sir. Good morning, sleep well”

“You too Miles.”

—

He must have gone to bed soon after, he was sure of it. So why was he awake?

Benjamin blinked. He was looking at Miles, or at least, he thought he was. But this man was too young. He also wore the grey and red-brown uniform of the Invisible Resistance.

Looking around, Sisko saw other humans, most of them running up the narrow corridor that stretched away in three directions and also up, all in resistance gear. He was not in the estate, but aboard a Cardassian prison transport. He didn't know how he knew that, as the insides of ship walls all looked the same, but he knew. He also knew that several Bajoran resistance leaders had been captured and were aboard the transport. He knew this place.

"Benjamin, we've re-routed the plasma flow and shut off of the shunts. She'll blow any minute. It's now or never to make our exit."

No, it couldn't be, that voice. Benjamin turned around to come face to face with.

"Jennifer?"

His mind had frozen. She looked at him odd. No, it was odd that she was looking at him at all. With dark eyes pulling him in like a black hole does light, and a face that would charm a Vulcan.

"Yes Ben? Are you alright? You're looking at me funny," she said.

"I- I just,"

"Come on you two. We gotta get a move on, we have to climb over to the other side before-"

BOOM

That was the sound, and shock wave, of the building pressure of plasma blasting the walls of the brig.

"It's too late to climb across. We’ve got to run for it!" shouted O'Brien, as he and the other humans scrambled to get through a small hole that led into the corridor, heading for a compartment in the was on the other side. Alarms were blaring, the lights were flashing, and security could be heard running down the hall. They did not have much time. They must not be seen.

Shots from phasers passed overhead, but Ben was not concerned with who was firing. Then another explosion, closer, much closer. Debris started to hit the ground, and now Sisko saw: the rebels had overpowered their guards and gotten their weapons, (as per the rebel's rescue plans) and the Cardassian security was peeking around the corner on one end of the hall, rebels at the other. The humans had not been seen.

They were almost all in the opposite wall! That provided a direct route to the shuttle bay where they could use the transporters. Once back on the rebel's ship, they would finally be safe.

"Benjamin!"

NO! He knew what was happening. It had happened before, and now he remembered what this was. Even though he knew what he would see, he turned around. Jennifer on the ground, struck by a piece of flying metal. She could not run. She was struggling to get up to walk. She had fallen behind, and now the Cardassians were running down the hall.

"JENNIFER!"

He instinctively stopped to run to her. More than one person took hold of his arms to drag him away, into the wall. He was screaming, a hand went over his mouth and he bit it. He tasted blood, but the hand stayed. Through tears He still caught a glimpse of the stomping Cardassian feet, going so fast and so dense, there was no hope that Jennifer would survive.

It was no consolation that she hadn't been seen. If she had, maybe they would have stopped, giving him enough time to- no. If he had, he would have been captured, and probably by Cardassians who would experiments on and torture him. Sometimes he wished the Bajorans knew about them, but then the Invisible Resistance wouldn't be so invisible. It was as if the fact that neither the Cardassians nor the Bajorans knew about humans was crucial to freeing Bajor. Ridiculous, of course.

Weird... It was suddenly very bright all around him? And where was everyone?

"Sisko?" a near monotone voice asked.

He was no longer in the ship's walls. No, this was much worse.

Looking down a wide ridged nose at him with large shining brown eyes, was a Bajoran, dressed in purple religious regalia, and he was standing in their hands.

He fell to his knees, unsteady on the flesh of the hands.

NO!

He was lifted up to its face, he could feel its warm breath as it said again. “Sisko”

He had been caught? Found? How? He looked around. More Bajorans! Surrounding him, all staring at him. Not with surprise, or anger, or curiosity. In fact no emotion at all.

“He is still too far gone,” said one.

“Who, who are you? What is happening? Where am I?”

The expressions and voices remained neutral.

“He can hear us.” Ben couldn’t tell which one said that.

“He is leaving us. We must give him directions,”

This time, he found himself in the hands of the one who spoke, not the hands he was in before. And then again, new hands, new speaker.

“You are wrong. Be concerned,” it said.

New hands, new speaker.

“The shadows are not your home!”

“What do you mean? What is my home?” He knew he should feel fear, but his question still came out.

New hands, new speaker

“Sisko of Bajor. You are wrong. Be concerned”

New hands, new speaker. The crowd closed in.

“You are wrong. Be concerned”

New hands, new speaker. The hands now closed around him.

“Be concerned”   
\--

He woke up. The darkness of the room took him by surprise, It has been so very bright a second ago, or at least, his dreams had been. But they felt so real, and he remembered everything.

Cold sweat dropped off him now that he was sitting up, but his heart would not calm down. The image, no, the sensation of being held in the Bajoran hands were still with him, conflicting with the current sensory input.

"Everything alright?" A body stirred next to him. Kasidy rolled over to look up at her husband, whose eyes were wide and shifting. Something was not alright.

"Just... just a bad dream," said Ben.

His wife moved closer to him, bringing with her warmth. She propped herself up on an elbow. "Must've been some dream, do you want to talk about it?"

"I- I can't remember it now,"

"You're a terrible liar, Ben. I asked a yes or no question. You could have just said-"

"It was my wife. Jennifer, I mean."

"Oh- oh Ben. I won't be mad if you've dreamt about her. You know that."

"I dreamt about her death."

"I can't even imagine..." Kasidy sat up, about to say more, then thought better of it. There wasn't much she could do to comfort him besides being there. As Sisko's current wife, she was a constant reminder of what he'd lost, regardless of how much he had gained. Trying to hold him like a lover wouldn't do any good, Ben needed a friend.

Jake fit the bill better than she did, but she wasn't sure Ben could manage getting dressed to wake his son. So she sat up all the way, sitting next to him in the cool room, and took his hand. The first tears hit the sheets with a soft *thup*.

\---

Past noon was when Jake woke up again, but it was Kasidy tapping him on the shoulder, not his father

"Five more minutes."

"Sorry Jake, but you should get up now. You're harvesting today, in case you had forgotten. The Bajorans still have not given signs that they will use the garden but we can't be sure they won't so get your gloves and boots!"

Jake groaned.

"Also, your dad had a rough night, and-"

"I know, it's my fault. I... I feel terrible," said Jake.

"I don't think it's anyone's fault," said Kasidy concernedly, getting Jake's clothes out of his dresser and dropping them in his lap. "But it certainly ain't yours. Still, behaving a little might help his mood."

Jake was about to ask what was going on, since it most certainly was his fault! Then a smell wafted into his room, something sweet and something fried.

"Stress cooking?"

"Yeah. Hope you're hungry because I gotta jet. It’s late as it is." Kasidy left his room and Jake was able to get dressed.

Dinner for breakfast. The Standard Sisko stress response was to cook away the bad feelings, and while Ben could make the most amazing lunches and dinners, he couldn't make a breakfast item to save his life. The table was covered in steaming entrees.

"Dad, this stuff will go bad. I can't eat it all!"

"Huh? Oh, I guess not. We could take this to the O'Brians, but we can't carry it all on our own." He was trying to sound energetic but Jake could tell his father had not slept much.

"I'll see if Nog or Jadzia can help. Or Alex. No, wait, he's still at Bashir's..." said Jake.

"That's where we are headed. It'll be like a picnic."

Fake excitement didn’t make sense as a response to Jake’s recklessness. He had expected another reprimand. What had happened last night that Jake didn’t know about? There were no clues as to what it could’ve been, and Jake felt to guilty to ask. Instead he walked over to the comm pad on the wall to see if Nog was still home.

—

The Siskos and Ferengis arrived in the garden with plates of food.

There was something to be said for the natural security of the overgrown bramble that grew alongside the garden shed where the O’Brians made their home. Ok, so they didn't live in the bramble, they lived under the shed, not far from gas and power lines. The bramble hid the main entrance but also provided a small area to gather.

"Wasting food, and when we might not get to borrow again for who knows how long?" said Quark as Nog, Jake, Rom, and Ben put the food down on a table made from a broken touch pad screen and corks.

"We have plenty of food, Quark. But if you think it's a waste, I won't waste it on your stomach," said Ben, serving everyone but Quark.

"Wait, I didn't mean it that way! I just meant- oh, never mind." He served himself food, looking at Ben as he did for a hint of aggression. But everyone's attention had turned to the latest arrivals.

A tall, strong young man with dark skin that sharply contrasted his long curly strawberry blonde hair done up in a tight bun, was hobbling on crutches. He had arrived with a skinnier, but just as tall brown skinned man. Alexander Dax and Julian Bashir.

“How’s the foot doing, Alex!?” Nog shouted.

“Better every day!” Alex smiled, and his eyes fell on the banquet.

“That wouldn’t be a lie if you followed my instructions,” said Julian, sitting down and taking a plate of food. He didn’t eat as he continued to talk. “He would have been fit to go home two days ago, but he’s impatient and overdid it on the physical therapy. This is marvelous Ben, what’s the occasion?” Julian finally had taken a bite of the food.

“Just felt like cooking,” said Ben.

Julian understood, and he didn't press the issue.

“Will Worf be joining us?” asked Alex, taking a seat across from Jake and Nog.

“He’s busy, but Jadzia should be here soon,”

As soon as he knew his father wasn’t going to be able to tell him off for aggravating his injury, Alex became focused on his friends.

“So, tell me about the borrowing!”

Nog rolled his eyes. “Alex you’re normally with us. You know how it goes.”

Alex looked disappointed. “Aw, nothing exciting then?”

“Nothing,” said Jake, sighing and looking at his food.

Nog couldn’t contain it anymore. “Just kidding. Last night was crazy! First off...” He ran over to his borrowing pack and pulled out a piece of chocolate confectionary. Alex’s eyes grew wide. “We got sweets” and Nog placed the head sized piece on the table. The three were about to dig into it when Julian intervened.

“Finish your real food first, boys. Especially you, Alex. Your body needs proper nutrition to heal.”

“Yes Doctor,” the three said in unison.

“Hey Doc! Relieve the boys of some of their prize. We adults also have sweet-tooths!” Quark shouted.

“You boys don’t mind?” Julian asked.

“Help yourself,” said Jake. He was eager to get back to recounting the night’s adventure, so he helped load up a plate with chocolate for Julian to take back to the adult side end of the table.

The O’Brians arrived as Julian left them, which finally took the adults attention off of the teenagers, and onto the toddler in Keiko’s arms.

“Second?” asked Alex.

It took a moment for Jake to remember what they were talking about. Nog beat him to it.

“Second, you know that guest room on the second floor? The one right there?” Nog pointed up at the window that was right across from the bramble that hid them from view.

“Well, it's being used, and last night, Jake-“ Jake kicked Nog. He hoped Alex didn’t notice. Nog paused mid sentence but pretended to choke on some food and took a drink of water before continuing.

“Jake and I, we were going to borrow from that room, but there’s a girl in there.”

“Oh! Is this why the meeting was held? Julian didn’t tell me anything! He never does!” said Alex

“Yeah, she arrived in a car with the crest of the House of Dukat on it! He’s some high ranked Cardassian.”

Alex started to look bored as Nog recounted the meeting in detail. He no longer resented Dr. Bashir for not telling him.

“Anyways!” said Jake, “We had one more incident last night. In the supply room.”

“It was finally cleared out!” said Nog, getting the hint.

“You’re kidding!” said Alex.

“Not at all! It was cleared out and it now holds... well, we don’t know what but it’s guarded! With Cardassians! With big guns!” said Nog, rather ineloquently. They spent the rest of the meal theorizing as to what could be in the mysterious box.

Even engaged in conversation with Miles and Julian, Ben couldn’t help but hear the kids mention the box and the object. And after, that is was hard to think of anything else.

Perhaps the arrival of 5 Dax members could take his mind off it. With effort, he pushed it to the back of his mind, and was momentarily satisfied.

“Ah! Julian! Just the man I wanted Ben to see,” said Jadzia, announcing her arrival and immediately setting upon the food. The other four Daxes made longer greetings.

“Jadzia, I am feeling much better this morning, there is no need too-”

“Ben went catatonic during an outing,” said Jadzia after swallowing a rather large mouthful of food.

“Did he now?” said Julian, with an air of confusion and interest.

Everyone went silent, everyone was staring. Jake most of all.

His dad hadn’t said a word about this to him. Was this the reason his dad had been stress cooking? A second ago Jake would have loved any reason for him to no longer be his dad’s source of stress, but now he wasn’t so sure. Catatonic? Was his dad ill?

“Perhaps, Doctor, this is something to be discussed later. In private,” said Ben, calmly but forcefully, and taking a sip of coffee.

“Yes, of course,” replied Julian.

The rest of the meal was eaten in an atmosphere of tension, but they honored Ben’s request for privacy. Jake’s hands became clammy with worry. But eventually, everyone was full and relatively happy, and soon, jobs were being assigned.

Ben, Jadzia, and Miles would go check any rooms they still had access too. Daytime it may be, but populated the estate is not, even with guests. Any room not being cleaned out was not in use. Julian soon ran after them.

Jake and Nog would collect herbs and other plant material that were hard to reach for the expecting Keiko. Supplies that were found deep in bushes, on top of a tall stem of a flowering plant, or up a wall of ivy, for example. Alex was to rest. He could watch his friends, but he was not allowed to use his leg. This meant sitting on a spool and napping, because watching other people gather random shit from a garden isn’t the most exciting pastime.

“Why didn’t you want me to mention the girl to Alex?” Nog cried up to Jake who was a few inches above him, after making sure Alex was asleep.

They were gathering baby leaves that were just sprouting from the top of a overgrown bush. The leaves actually belonged to a vine that had snaked its way through the bush to reach sunlight, only to have its leaves plucked by two humans. Keiko had instructed them to leave some leaves so that the plant would survive.

“It wasn’t Alex I didn’t want hearing about last night. It was everyone else,” said Jake. “You can tell him now if you like.”

Nog glanced down at Alex, who was keeping cool under the shade of a large leaf, while his friends roasted in the sun. He was also still sleeping, his leg elevated slightly on a cushion. “I won’t disturb him. he needs to rest to recover,” said Nog, adjusting his bandana. Today’s was yellow.

Jake looked up at the sky, wiping the sweat from his brow. And as he glanced down, his eyes passed by the house and fell upon a window. In the window was a figure - the girl. She was looking out over the garden, and for a moment Jake flinched, before realizing that he couldn’t be seen from this distance. A small part of him wished he could. That part of him was forming a devious plan. And that part of him dropped his knife.

“What the hell, Jake? That nearly hit me!” cried Nog.

“Sorry about that! Do you think you could get it back for me? You’re closer to the ground!” asked Jake, giving Nog a pleading smile. Nog huffed, grumbling a “fine” and proceeded downward.

Once Nog was out of site, Jake scrambled over the bush towards the house. The edge of the thick bush was about half a foot from the vines the snakes up the gutter drain. Half a foot was about Jake’s height, and he could normally jump that distance, but a bush wasn’t the best jumping-off material.

Determination won over common sense and he leaped, hugging the first piece of vine that he could. The impact jarred him but he didn’t have time to waste and started climbing. The window was only, on the second floor… Nog was sure to discover his absence at any moment. Would he now personally try to stop him? Or go fetch his father…

—-

Ben was pacing the floor as Jadzia and Miles watched. He had been at this for five minutes. Julian had pronounced him in full health, and couldn’t find anything wrong. That didn’t mean nothing was. Jadzia and Miles still worried.

“I’ve changed my mind,” said Ben, looking up at Miles and then to Jadzia. “I must go investigate this object. And as soon as possible. Now in fact.”

“Now!?” said Jadzia and Miles in unison.

“Ben, the room is guarded! It’s broad daylight!” objected Jadzia.

“Sir, if I may speak candidly...” Miles didn’t wait for permission. “This is a bad fucking idea. Last night, you said it was none of our concern.”   
That made Ben falter momentarily. He should berate Miles for that. He should also listen to hi friends. They were right. But he was more right. He needed, more than anything in the world, to see the object.

“I was wrong. Based on new information, I believe it is of great concern,” said Ben.

“What new information could you possibly have gotten since you fell last night?” asked Miles.

Ben walked over to the wall; there was a small hole in it where he could look out into the hallway. He watched a Bajoran butler walk by before replying. What could he say? His new information was his gut. At least, he thought it was. His drama said it was important, but with Jadzia already fearing for his sanity, he wasn’t about to mention his dream. He didn’t want to think about the dream, how real the hands felt around him, so large and imposing, hands that could crush him instantly. How had his dreams conjured such realistic hands? He had never been caught.

“I can’t reveal my sources,” lied Ben. “But if I wait, it might be too late. I don’t know how long the object will be there. I’m going.”

“We’re going,” said Jadzia, picking up her gear.

“You don’t need to take this risk, Jadzia,” said Ben.

“I’m not letting you go alone. And even if you did, the risk is never just to yourself, It’s always to all of us, so I’m going,” said Jadzia, placing a hand on Ben’s shoulder. It was tense. “And so is Miles.”

They both stared at Miles, who hadn’t made a move. Then he picked up a climbing hook, put on his gear harness, and pulled his goggles over his eyes. “Of course I’m coming.”

Ben’s shoulders relaxed. Slightly. “First, we need to see how the room is guarded.”

\---

It took a little longer than Nog expected to retrieve the knife. It had landed on its hilt and bounced a ways away. By the time he was climbing back up, Jake was nowhere to be found. Jake hadn’t climbed back down, so he must be above. Nog continued to climb, and his head popped out of the dense leaves, and he looked around.

There were several tall stems shooting out of the bush with flowers and young leaves, but Jake was not perched at any of them. Where could he have gone? He had to get a better vantage point. He chose a flower and started climbing.

Eventually he was high up enough to scan the area. He found Jake, and he nearly lost his grip. He didn’t, instead he drew out a concave mirror.

\---

Jake had to swing to get up on the slanted ledge that extended below the window, and once up there he sat down. While he was catching his breath, he looked out over the garden. It was stunning from this high up. Overgrown? Yes. Full of amazing and colorful plants? Also yes. Did a light suddenly shine in his eye? Yes.

The blindness was only for a moment as the light flashed in his face and he looked for the source, which didn’t take long. As he suspected, Nog had returned and found he was, and was furiously signaling to him.

Jake took it as a signal to get moving.

Nog made a split second decision. He couldn’t catch up to Jake. He had to get help.

\---

Three pairs of eyes peered through a very small crack in the ceiling, down at the closed door. There was one guard standing right in front of it. They had a rifle, n. Not that a phaser was a threat to a human, being such a small target. But they were alert.

“Ok., Now the room itself,” Ben whispered, as they traveled through the ceiling. As they neared the area over the room, muffled voices reached their ears. This ceiling had no faults; they had to go to the ground. There was a broken wall socket that they could peek out of. Once lower down, the voices became audible.

“And the Bajorans will trade for this? It’s a lump of rock!” someone spat. The voice was Cardassian.

“It isn’t a lump of rock. A common mistake. It’s more energy than matter, and it is sacred to them. They would give almost anything to have it back,” said another voice, also Cardassian.

“They are demanding reparations. This isn’t the time to be demanding things from them,” insisted the first voice.

Ben and company reached the wall socket and looked out. Their vantage point was from the wall on the left of the table. Two Cardassian men were arguing in front of the table. They were dressed in fine clothing of the latest fashion, faces painted and wearing a few pieces of jewelry, all tasteful. A third Cardassian, a guard, was in front of the door, positioned exactly as the other guard.

“Reparations! What a load of crap. The damage they did to all our infrastructure is worth more than what they could hope to take from us now. We are at a ceasefire at best. A long one, yes, but still a ceasefire. They are desperate; they will want this... this Orb, or whatever. I was assured this.”

“By whom?”

“My dear, I cannot compromise with them, but it was a Vedek,” the Cardassian chuckled, “Their religion is almost as important to them as their autonomy, and for some, for many, it is more important.”

“If you are right, then you may have my support. Now, the luncheon is about to start.”

The guard knocked on the door, which was opened by the one outside. All three Cardassians exited. Before the guard shut the door, he placed a hand on a terminal, which had not been there last night. It flashed a confirmation that the room was secure.

“Miles?” asked Sisko.

“I dunno about politics, sir, not since the revolution ended. Been focused on my family you know,” said Miles.

“No, Chief,” said Ben, using Miles’ resistance codename which had become a friendly nickname. “This room has security. Are the special features of your goggles still operational?”

“Yes sir,” said Miles, blushing, but also proud that his cobbled together tech held up so well. He flipped through different modes. After a minute, he smiled. “Sensors on the windows, the door. Motion detectors at 2 decimeters above the ground, making a 2 square decimeter grid. We will have to crawl, but we won’t be detected. OH!” he cried out as his vision went white. “That might be a problem. A life signs detector. It might register us as rodentia and not trigger an alarm, but we can’t tell until it happens.”

“Those detectors never saw us during the resistance. Lead the way, Chief,” said Ben.

Pushing against the wall socket made enough of a gap for the three humans to squeeze through and onto the floor. Miles got them to the table and made sure to have each of them stand up inside a square, and to be careful not to move too much in any horizontal.

None of them could possibly throw a hook that high. But Miles, ever resourceful, had a hook launcher.

“It makes a bit of noise. Are you sure?” he asked, taking it out.

Ben took it. “Point and click?”

“Yes sir,” said Miles.

Ben angled it slightly. A small POP, and it shot up, arcing a bit before hitting the table and snagging the tablecloth. He freed the end of the rope from the launcher and motioned for Jadzia. She carefully entered his square.

“Hold the rope steady,” he instructed. “Don’t let it swing out. When I’m above the sensor grid, cut it.” He began to climb. Once it was cut, the going wasn’t as smooth. He was swinging, but the hook held. He made it onto the table. A black hexagonal cylinder of a box stood before him like a mighty obelisk. He must see what was inside. He ran to the front. It was closed, but not locked. It had a clasp.

“Chief?” said Jadzia, looking worried. “We can’t tell if the box has security, can we?”

“Shit.” said Miles, “We can’t, and even if we could, how would we tell him?”

They could only stand and look up at the table, with no clue as to the goings on top.

\---

Jake had reached the window. It was open, but had a mesh screen to keep out bugs. He stayed by the corner as he glanced in. The girl, Ziyal, wasn’t in the bed; instead she was at the small table, reading a book. She was in a nice, but simple dress in the Cardassian style. And she wasn’t alone. Beside her, a grumpy looking Bajoran woman, with short red-brown hair and in a plain uniform. Her legs and arms were crossed. Jake watched as the girl tried to make small talk, but soon gave up.

After a few minutes, the woman got up. Someone was at the door - another Bajoran woman, this one dressed in a maid’s attire. She brought in a tray of food and drink, enough for one person, and set it down on the table.

“I take it I am not to join the lunch?” asked Ziyal, setting her book in her lap. It was hard to tell, but she sounded a bit disappointed.

“No ma’am,” said the uniformed woman, who remained standing, her arms still crossed. “But your father has requested that I be in attendance.”

“I promise not to cause any trouble,” said Ziyal, pouring herself some tea, accepting her lonely lunch.

“You do that just by existing, ma’am,” said the Bajoran, who stiffened at her own harsh words, but she glanced around.

Jake became aware that he was no longer in the corner, but leaning against the mesh, and jumped back to concealment. The Bajoran hadn’t seen him and continued. “And if you do, it will be my neck on the line.” She leaned in close to Ziyal. “You would do best to remember that.”

“It’s nice, not having the room bugged,” said Ziyal. “I wonder if they forgot, or didn’t bother.”

Without another word, the Bajoran left, her tail held stiff to keep it from swishing with frustration. As she exited, Jake moved in front of the window again, not as far as he had let himself before, still in the corner. Ziyal was reading her book again.

\---

Ben only reached for the clasp when it unclasped itself and the box swung open.

The incomprehensible was inside, until it shifted, and shifted again, until it took a form that human eyes could handle. It did look a bit like a rock, with its jagged hourglass shape, but it was suspended in the box, and slowly revolving as edges constantly shifted, giving off an intense light.

\---

Nog had figured out where Ben was, and had thrown caution to the wind. He was behind the wall socket, and he lifted it up, jumping out and running to Jadzia and Miles as he shouted “Mr. Sisko!”

Jadzia and Miles spun around in terror, “Nog, no!” shouted Jadzia. It was too late. Even so short, Nog had passed through a sensor as he leapt, and the alarm was beeping.

\---

The alarm was beeping, the door was opening, but Ben didn’t notice, because for him, time had stopped.

From behind the box walked humans. All of them resistance members that had died. Jennifer led the pack, and took his hands. Instantly, she was gone and he found himself underground, a cavern lit with fairy lights. A resistance compound. No danger, this was an abandoned human colony, now a base. He was eating rations alone in a mess hall. But he was not alone for long.

“Mind if I join you?” Jennifer asked. Ben couldn’t answer. But she sat down. “I’ve seen you here, at this table before. You usually eat with friends, where are they?”

“Jennifer,” Ben finally said.

“That’s my name. How do you know it?” She began eating her rations.

“I- this- this isn’t possible,” said Ben. This was the day he first met Jennifer. She had given him company, which he sorely needed, as his comrades were off on missions. She had taken his mind off worrying about his friends for a few moments. But those few moments turned into daily, then for every meal, even when his friends (most of them, at least) returned.

“You got closer, but there is danger,” she said. Her food was gone. His was too.

“What are you talking about?”

“You must get closer,” she said.

Then she was gone. In her place was Jake; they were sitting on the roof of the mansion. Jake was looking up at the sky.

“Do you ever wonder what’s out there?” Jake asked.

It was a cool night, not unusual, but he remembered this moment. It was from a few years ago.

“You know what is out there,” Ben recited the words, which he had said before. “The Cardassians are out there.”

“But what about beyond them? Surely there is more,” said Jake. “There is more, closer than we even know.”

Ben took a chance that this was not Jake. “How do we do that?” he asked.

Jake looked at him, and then back up. Just like on that night, a ship streaked across the sky.

“What is out there?” asked Ben. “What will I find?”

“You. We. Us,” said Jake.

Ben stood up. He wanted to shake the thing that was not Jake, but he couldn’t, because he was also so clearly Jake.

“How do I find you?”

Jake looked out over the roof. Something was moving across it.

\--

 

Ben was back standing before the object. The light was less intense now, the room around him was a dulled and fuzzy. That something from the roof was there too.

A large black snake was slithering from behind the box, and it reared up, hissing, mouth wide open, the inside of the mouth was as indiscernible as the object had first been. Ben was helpless to move as it lunged at him, engulfing him in darkness. He was suspended in a black void for a second before once again finding himself in the hands of a Bajoran dressed in religious regalia. It was holding him over the table. The box was open, empty. In his own hands was the object, small enough for him to hold. It hurt, the edges were sharp. His hand had cuts, but they weren’t bleeding.

“Danger, we cannot allow this,” said the Bajoran. It walked away from the table, and Ben looked down. He saw, frozen in time, Jadzia and Miles, gesturing at something across the room. It was Nog, who was running towards them.

The Bajoran walked over to Nog and placed Ben next to him. The walk had no gate, there was no feeling of movement at all, even as it lowered him down.

And time started again. He only had a moment to act, the door was opening.

“RUN!” he bellowed, praying he would not be heard above the alarm.

Nog stumbled, as far as he knew, Ben had teleported to him, and was now pulling him into the wall. Jadzia and Miles were running towards them.

The guards burst into the room, but their eyes didn’t look down. They were puzzled momentary by the lack of an intruder. Then they noticed, the box was open. The Orb was gone.

The humans were out of the room as they heard the guards shout with anger and despair. Ben slipped the object into his bag. The small cuts on his hands were now dripping with blood. They stung, but he couldn’t do anything about that right now. They couldn’t stay here, the guards would be back to search the room. So they swiftly moved to a wall space a few rooms down. Here there was silence, and it was cool.

Miles rounded on Nog, about to give him a piece of his mind, but Ben beat him to it. Or so he thought. “Nog?” asked Ben, not angry. Nog could not have known about the sensors. The fact that Nog was here could only mean one thing.

“Where is Jake?”

\---

Without putting her book down, her teacup at her lips, Ziyal glanced over to the window.

Right at Jake.

“Oh, it’s you again,” she said, smiling. “You’re back.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! please leave comments!


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